How to Pick a DJ Drop Bed: Dry, Impact Hit or Riser

Pick Impact hit when the drop has to hit on its own, Riser when the drop leads into a track, and Dry (voice only) when you will layer the voice over music that is already playing. The Music bed selector on Club Ready Music's DJ drop tab is a single choice, Impact hit is the default, and the bed is synthesized to fit the length you choose, so a 10-second riser is a longer build than a 3-second one. The bed only appears in the MP3 download; the Dry download is always the voice alone.

Steps

1. Decide what the drop has to do

A drop does one of three jobs. It punctuates, landing on a downbeat or over a breakdown as a stamp. It builds, running up to the moment a track or a show starts. Or it rides, sitting on top of music you are already playing. Each job has a bed: Impact hit punctuates, Riser builds, Dry (voice only) rides. Decide the job before you look at the voice or the FX.

2. Use Impact hit for a stamp

Club Ready Music's Impact hit is a pitched sine sweep from 900 Hz down to 40 Hz with a burst of noise at the start, sitting under the voice. The sweep gives the front of the drop a thud that reads as a hit on a club system, and the 40 Hz tail adds weight under the name. It suits Hype and Imaging and the default Reverb tail plus Stutter chain. Keep the length at 3 s or 5 s so the hit and the voice arrive together.

3. Use Riser for a build

Club Ready Music's Riser is a sine and noise sweep rising from 80 Hz to 1.6 kHz that peaks at the end of the clip. Because it peaks at the end, the length setting is also the build length: 3 s is a quick lift, 10 s is a tension ramp of more than five bars at most tempos. Put the voice early in the script so the words are done before the riser is loud. Riser pairs well with Robotic and with Echo and Reverb tail.

4. Use Dry (voice only) for layering

Choose Dry (voice only) when the drop will be played from a sampler over a running track or placed in a mix editor. There is no bed to clash with the track's kick or key. The FX chain still applies if ticked, so you can have a stuttered, reverbed voice with no music under it. If you want the voice with no FX either, untick the chain as well, or simply use the Dry download from any render.

5. Set the length to suit the bed

Length 3 s, 5 s or 10 s is applied to the whole clip, and the bed is built to that length. Impact hit is front-loaded, so it works at any length. Riser needs room, so 5 s or 10 s shows it best. Dry (voice only) can be as short as the read allows. Remember the clip stretches up to 60 seconds if the read runs long, so a long script with Riser pushes the peak later.

6. Render and check the front and the end

Press Render 3 variations and listen specifically to the first half second and the last half second. On Impact hit the noise burst should land with the first word; on Riser the peak should arrive just before the 250 ms fade at the end. If the voice finishes long before the riser peaks, shorten the length or lengthen the script.

7. Download the version that fits the job

Press MP3 for the bed-plus-voice version and Dry for the voice alone. For a stamp, load the MP3 into your sampler. For a build, drop the MP3 at the end of the outgoing track. For a ride, use the Dry file and let the track underneath supply the music. Copy link shares any of them.

Tips

• Impact hit and Riser are synthesized sweeps, not samples of music, so they have no fixed key. They sit under most tracks without a clash in the melodic range.
• The Impact hit sweep bottoms out at 40 Hz. On small speakers you hear the noise burst more than the thud; test on a system with a sub if the drop is for a club.
• A Riser drop at 10 s with Robotic and the voice in the first three seconds is a ready-made intro for a mix or a stream.
• For a sampler bank, render each script twice, once with Impact hit and once with Dry (voice only), so you have a stamp and a ride of the same line.
• Every bed is normalised with the voice to −8 LUFS, so swapping beds does not change the drop's overall level.

Common problems

• The impact drowns the first word. The noise burst is landing on the name. Add a short lead word such as 'This is' so the hit sits before the name.
• The riser peaks after the voice has finished. The script is too short for the length. Pick 3 s or 5 s, or write a longer line.
• The drop clashes with the track underneath. You used Impact hit over a playing track. Re-render with Dry (voice only), or use the Dry download you already have.
• Dry (voice only) still has stutter and reverb. The bed selector does not control the FX chain. Untick the effects you do not want, or use the Dry download.